A Learning Experience
by aaliona
Summary: Hermione is sent to Washington to investigate the recent vampire migration to the area, but her life is put in danger when Jasper discovers she is his singer. Everyone might learn a thing or two.


**This was written for the April Challenge at the Twin Exchange (for Harry Potter), which asked for a crossover. I am not much of a Twilight fan, but this seemed like the most obvious crossover. For the sake of this story, the event of Twilight take place only a handful of years after the seventh Harry Potter.**

"Why exactly do I have to go?" Hermione asked. She crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, just to show that this was her office and she would not be intimidated.

Kingsley sighed, having expected her to be this difficult. "As you know, Boris is running for Minister of Magic against me this term. I would love to send him out of the country for it, but that wouldn't be fair. You are the next most, possibly the foremost, competent member of the Being Division."

"I am," she agreed cheekily, "so shouldn't I be allowed to assign someone else?"

"Someone who has no experience with vampires?" he replied. "Now, Hermione, I'm sure you know how well that would go over. Besides, as you know, the world has two types of vampires: traditional and this kind, which we don't know much about. Going would also allow you to study them as well as the strange Muggle Animagi found in the area."

She narrowed her eyes. "That's low," she spat. "Bating me with knowledge! I thought you were above such tactics."

The Minister grinned. "So you'll do it?"

And that was how Hermione ended up in the United States. It took her longer than it could have to reach Washington since her one demand to the Minister had been to fly the Muggle way. "I'm going to be living back in a mainly muggle culture," she had explained. "Shouldn't I start preparing for it ahead of time?"

"Fine," he'd grumbled, just wanting her to go and not change her mind. "The Ministry will pay."

Although no one other than her parents knew, Hermione loved planes. She loved sitting in the plush first-class seats, looking out the window, and imagining that Muggles had harnessed magic to create this one machine.

Back on land, she skipped the issue of a taxi and snuck away to Apparate to the tiny town she needed. She opened her eyes again, having ended up in a small alleyway. She gripped her small suitcase tightly (to blend in, she would buy clothing here in American if need be) and stepped out into the street. The town was much smaller than London, but Hermione wasn't bothered terribly by it. She saw a diner on the corner and walked across the traffic-less to it.

"Excuse me," she said to the first waitress to approach her. "Can you tell me where the Cullens live?"

The waitress started and most of the people near them turned to look at her, curious as to why someone with a strange accent would come to a place like Forks. "What now? What business do you have with the Cullens?" the waitress asked.

She thought quickly. "I'm a cousin."

"Bella's?" the waitress asked. "You look kind of like her."

"Of course," she lied, remembering that Bella was the most recently turned vampire. "I haven't seen her in ages. When you live on opposite sides of the Atlantic…"

Hermione trailed off, but the waitress nodded her head quickly as though she completely understood what Hermione meant. "Well, it isn't too hard to get there. It's this clearly down the highway, not too far."

She thanked the girl and left. As she walked down the road in the direction the waitress had pointed, Hermione imagined they were all staring out the window at her. It was pretty obvious that they didn't get visitors very often, much less one from so far away. That she was walking and seemed to have showed up from nowhere probably added to the confusion, and the town would likely be abuzz with her arrival by that night.

As soon as she was out of anyone's sight, Hermione turned on the spot and Apparated to the clearing. She stopped in the middle of the drive. She looked out at the highway and jumped out of the way in time for a sleep, black monstrosity to fly by. Having never cared much about cars, she had no idea what it was, but she knew it had to be expensive.

The car stopped less than ten feet in front of her, something that seemed impossible given its speed just moment before. The driver's door opened, revealing a handsome, clean-cut man who looked about eighteen.

"Who are you?" he asked coldly.

Hermione was about to respond when the other door opened so a pretty woman could step out. "Be nice, Edward," she commanded. The woman turned to Hermione with a warm smile. "Hello, my name is Bella."

"Hermione Granger," she replied, stepping forward to shake Bella's hand. Before she could, however, Edward appeared in front of her. She gasped at the suddenness of it and the bright yellow of his eyes.

Bella wriggled around from behind him to shake Hermione's hand, showing off her matching yellow eyes. "It's nice to meet you," she said, as if Edward hadn't just interrupted their conversation.

He stared down at Hermione until Bella elbowed him in the ribs. "My name is Edward," he said reluctantly. "It's a pleasure. Now why are you here?"

Some might have considered his abruptness rude, but Hermione could appreciate his need to find facts quickly. "First off, I am a witch. I've been sent by the British Department of Magical Beings by request of the American Magical Federation to discover the source of the recent migration by so many type II vampires to this area."

"You're a witch?" Bella asked, but Edward ignored her.

He smiled and replied, "Glad to have you, but I'm afraid you've missed the fun. The last of the extra friends left three days ago." The day Kingsley had approached her.

Hermione sighed. "As part of my job, I still need to check that statement, and – if it isn't too much trouble – I would love to learn a bit more about you."

Edward laughed. "Your government knows very little about us, does it?"

She unwillingly nodded. "None of my kind does," she said. "Only the Italians have any idea, but they refuse to cooperate with usual knowledge pool on magical beings."

"You're a witch?" Bella repeated.

Edward placed a hand around her shoulders. "There's still a lot about our world that you know nothing about. Don't worry; we'll fill you in when necessary."

She grumbled something Hermione couldn't hear in response before adding louder, "Then I suppose it's time to go up to the house."

He nodded and tilted his head to the car. "You can climb in the back, if you like."

Since she couldn't see the house from where they were at, Hermione gladly complied. Edward restarted the car, resonating the backseat with a gentle purr that seemed far too alive for Hermione's taste. It only proved the vehicle must have cost an ungodly amount.

When they arrived at the house, Edward seemed to blur out of his seat. Before Hermione could tell what was happening, both he and Bella were out of the car, their doors shut, and Edward was opening hers.

"Thank you," she said as she got out. Hermione looked up in disbelief at the glass house before her. It was as unreal to her pay grade as the car.

"Right this way," Bella said, drawing Hermione from her thoughts. The witch followed the amber-eyed girl towards the door, but it opened before they had reached it. "Bella!" a spiky-haired girl called. "Leave her outside. Jasper hasn't eaten lately, and her scent is making him twitchy."

Realizing they were talking about her, Hermione asked, "Should I get back in the car?"

"That would be wise," Edward replied. "Your scent is in the air, of course, but that will dull it somewhat."

She returned to the car, surprised when the spiky-haired girl climbed in the back with her. Edward and Bella disappeared into the house.

"My name is Alice," she said with a warm smile. She reached out to take Hermione's hand, and Hermione discovered this vampire's hand was as ice cold as the others.

"Hermione Granger," she returned. "I work for the Department of Magical Beings in Britain."

"London," Alice said with confidence. "Carlisle will enjoy having another Brit around, although you know a very different world than he did." She laughed.

Hermione recalled from her reading about the coven that Carlisle was the leader and creator of most of the vampires in it.

A frown suddenly crossed Alice's features. She studied Hermione's face for a moment before leaning in and taking a deep breath. Slightly weirded out, Hermione leaned away. "I'm sorry," Alice added. "I just wanted to see if I found anything spectacular about my husband's first singer."

"First what?" the witch asked, a crease appearing in her brow.

"_La tua cantante_," Alice explained. "A singer is a human with exceptionally sweet blood to a certain vampire."

The analytical side of her took over, and Hermione asked, "Do all vampires have singers or is it just type II?"

Alice quirked her mouth. "I haven't the slightest. I've never even had one, not that I'm sorry because of it. A singer's blood is nearly impossible to resist."

Hermione gulped. "So I'm in trouble."

She shook her head. "Not necessarily. We'll just keep you and Jasper apart and hope for the best."

"You sound so sure."

"I can see the future," Alice said.

"I don't believe in diviners," Hermione replied as she rolled her eyes.

Alice cocked her head. "Oh no? In about ten seconds, Jasper will throw himself against the car while Emmett and Edward attempt to drag him back. Then I will shield you to get him to back off. To get himself out of the situation, he'll take off running in the opposite direction."

"I highly doubt –"

_Wham!_

Hermione jerked her head up in time to see a body being yanked away from the car. He then pulled away from his captors – they were moving too fast for Hermione to tell who any of them were – and threw himself against the car again. Hermione's view was suddenly cut off by Alice, who glared at the man. He looked the spunky vampire in the eye and hurtled himself away from the car. Hermione blinked, and he was gone.

"That was…" she trailed off, not wanting to confirm that the smirking girl was indeed psychic.

"Pretty magical, huh?" Alice said with a grin.

"I'm not sure _magical_ is the right word," Hermione replied, easily able to slip into logic as her base. "Magic is wand-work and such that has an obvious result." She paused. "That was a bit impressive, though."

"I figured you would think as much," she quipped before opening the door. "He won't be back until almost seven," she announced to the people now gathered around them. "We need to have Hermione out of the way or, at least, out of smell by six so it doesn't hurt his sense too much."

"Good to know," a blonde woman said before turning to look at Hermione, who was peeking out around the car door. "Why do humans always seem to cause so much drama when they visit?" she drawled.

"Be nice, Rosalie," a well-muscled man commanded. "She couldn't have known Jasper would react like this." He sauntered towards her and shook her hand with incredible strength. "The name's Emmett. Don't mind, Rosalie. She finds humans more trouble than they're worth."

"Um, nice to meet you," Hermione replied. "My name is Hermione Granger, and I'm here to represent –"

"The British Department of Magical Beings, as sent by the American Magical Federation," Rosalie cut in. "Edward told us."

"Welcome," said the last of the men. "My name is Carlisle Cullen, and it is a pleasure to have you here. You will have to excuse the commotion earlier. Did Alice explain the problem to you?"

Hermione nodded and Alice added, "Jasper is very sorry and wishes he could have met you without an issue."

"I understand," Hermione replied. "Magic binds in inconvenient ways sometimes."

A fourth woman glided up to the witch. "My name is Esme," she said, putting an arm around Hermione. "Won't you come inside?"

As they walked towards the door (which seemed to be the only non-glass part of the house), a rumbling echoed towards them. Esme stepped in front of Hermione, but as a large wolf and young girl stopped before them, the vampire relaxed.

"Jacob would like to know if there is a reason for the intrusion," the girl said. Hermione found herself extremely ruffled until she added, "Jasper just ran into La Push demanding that the wolves hold him."

"He found a singer," Alice explained.

For the first time, the girl seemed to notice Hermione. "My name is Renesmee. It's nice to meet you."

"Hermione," she returned, distracted by the wolf. He had to be one of the Muggle Animagi she'd heard so little about. "Jacob?" she asked.

The wolf's eyes narrowed, obviously not trusting a stranger who knew him. "How do you know him?" Renesmee asked.

"I'm a witch, sent by the British and American governments after so many vampires migrated here."

The wolf nodded and trotted away. "He's going to shift," Renesmee explained. "Jacob will be back in a moment."

"In the meantime," Edward said, "let's go inside."

Once Jacob had joined them in the sitting room, Hermione explained to him, Bella, and Renesmee about the wizarding world. "And since little of the world knows much about you, it was all the more reason to come," she concluded.

Jacob shook his head with a smile. Bella glanced at him, a crease in her brow. "What's so funny?"

"There's no way this is real," he scoffed before turning to Edward. "This is just some elaborate prank, isn't it?"

"No, it isn't," Hermione replied.

"Oh yeah?" Jacob smirked and asked, "How did you get here?"

"I flew."

"Is that enough proof for you?" Bella asked, but Jacob wasn't convinced.

"On a broom?"

Hermione shuddered. "I hate brooms. It was on a plane."

"Ha!" Jacob grinned. "I knew it couldn't be true."

"That only took me to Seattle," she said. "I had to Apparate the rest of the way?"

"What's that?" Renesmee asked.

"This," Hermione replied. She stood and Apparated to the other side of the room. "Still don't believe me?" she asked the stunned wolf-boy.

"I suppose you _might_ be a witch," he admitted, "but our history is not to be shared with outsiders. It's a law."

She nodded reluctantly and walked back to her seat. "I figured it might be the case. Can I still ask the rest of you a few questions?"

Esme smiled. "Of course. This is an even better opportunity for you since Renesmee is so special."

Hermione spent the next hour asking questions and scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment. As she was taking a short break to rest her hand, Alice stood.

"Jasper is on his way back," the vampire said.

Emmett and Jacob both moved closer to Hermione, in case Jasper was about to come crashing through the window.

"He isn't going to hurt her," Alice predicted, stunning everyone in the room. "He's had four deer this afternoon, so he isn't a bit hungry. Jasper just wants to prove to himself that he can handle it."

"He shouldn't be testing himself like this," Edward said. "I don't want to think about how long it will take him to snap."

"He won't," Alice said confidently. "He'll be fine. By the way, he's coming through the door in about five seconds, so I would appreciate it if you all sat down and acted calm.

Hermione sat back on the same couch next to Bella, but Jacob slid himself onto the end next to her, making both girls scoot down. Renesmee ran over and hopped up on his lap. She was just getting situated when the door slid open. A bronze-haired man entered, and Hermione recognized him as the man outside the car.

"Hello," he said quietly, his physical restraint extremely obvious. "My name is Jasper. You are?"

"Hermione Granger," she replied. Knowing that approaching him or even moving might trigger him to action, she remained seated. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Same to you," Jasper said. He moved an arm from his side, revealing a small bundle of flowers. "Since I was not able to greet you properly, I figured you might like a gift."

Young Renesmee slid off Jacob's lap and ran over to Jasper, taking the flowers but still holding his hand. To Hermione's puzzlement, he nodded after a moment. "I would be happy to give you my story," he said, looking back up at the witch. "Perhaps it would be best if I wrote it down, though. I don't believe either of us could be completely at ease with an interview setting."

She chuckled in response. "That sounds fine to me." Hermione accepted the flowers from Renesmee and looked around at the other Cullens. "That may be best for almost everyone as far as the rest of the information is concerned."

Carlisle nodded. "That seems best. Do you need to stay somewhere for the night?"

"I would greatly appreciate that," she replied.

"Charlie would probably let her stay," Bella offered.

He nodded. "I'm sure he would. If you and Edward would like to take her, the rest of us will just stay here."

"No need," Alice said, waving a hand in dismissal before flashing a cocky grin. "Charlie loves me; I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I took her."

Hermione stood and followed Alice to the door. "It was great meeting all of you," she said. "Thank you for the information, and I look forward to hearing from you in the future."

The others sounded off a chorus of responses, but the only person she locked eyes with was Jasper. They held contact for a moment before she looked away to follow Alice. The two girls went out to a garage filled with more expensive cars than Hermione could ever remember seeing in her life. They got into a yellow one.

"Thank you."

Hermione glanced over at the vampire beside her. "For what?"

Alice smiled. "Jasper has never completely adjusted to having humans all around him. To have someone affect him so strongly but not react when ten feet away was a huge feat for him. I could never thank you enough."

"It was no problem," she stammered in reply. "I didn't do much."

"But you did enough." Alice turned to fasten her seatbelt – a seemingly useless movement given the strength Hermione knew she possessed. "Now, on to Charlie's."


End file.
